At Home in Muskoka

I’m delighted to close season two of the podcast with a conversation with Fay Martin from Places for People. This is a critical listen for anyone struggling with a sense of hopelessness as we continue into a season of upheaval. As Fay says, “doing what you can with what you have is a great antidote for feeling powerless and vulnerable”. Join us as we talk about the importance of using community resources to address community issues as an alternative to waiting for somebody else to fix things  

Beth Houston joins me in today’s episode to talk about Gravenhurst Against Poverty, a cornerstone organization in Muskoka that creates community through food, programming, and transportation. We talk about what GAP is doing right now, what it would like to do, and what it will take to make our big dreams for Gravenhurst come true.

In today’s episode the Coordinator of the Alliance for a Liveable Ontario, Franz Hartmann, walks us through five ways to make homes affordable in Ontario. 

In today’s episode, we meet Nat Pace, the network director of the Canadian Network of Community Land Trust. They lead us through the history of the modern land trust movement and the mission of the CNCLT to support the movement here in Canada. A must-listen episode for anyone interested in organizing around community land stewardship.

Join Aaron Binder and I as we discuss the connections between thriving local business and thriving communities.

Len Ring from Climate Action Muskoka joins the show today to discuss the history of CAM, the urgency of taking action to stop global warming, the interconnectedness of climate action and community building, and what we can do (and are doing!) collectively and as individuals to mitigate climate change.

Join Kate Trueland from Community Living South Muskoka and I as we discuss the impact inclusive spaces can have on the experience and enjoyment of Muskoka for residents and visitors with developmental and physical disabilities.

In today’s episode, Kelly Jones generously shares her story of building a life here in Muskoka, and uses it as an example of how life-changing an invitation into community can be.

In today’s episode of At Home in Muskoka, Dr. Yan joins me for a conversation about how the natural environment is part of our community, and what we can do to strengthen our relationship to the land and water of Muskoka.

In our final episode of season one, Sandi speaks about Community Land Trusts, and how stewarding community assets for permanently attainable housing can benefit everyone, not just the people who get housed.

In this episode, Lynn DeCaro from the Muskoka Community Foundation joins me to talk about Vital Signs, a bi-annual report that functions as a health and vitality check up across a range of sectors that are critical to the quality of life for our community. We discuss her path from Orrville to Muskoka, from bottle drives to community foundations, and from small actions to big impact.

I’m joined today by Suzanne Willett, Executive Director of Community Living Huntsville, to talk about what exactly Community Living does to support and advocate alongside people with developmental disabilities to live the lives they choose in their community.

I’m joined today by Tom Fortier and Peter Kelley to talk about how our community is affected by the housing crisis. We discuss what the District Municipality of Muskoka is doing about it, including the work of the Muskoka Housing Task Force 2.0, and what we as community members can do about it both collectively and individually.

Kate Monk joins me today to talk about how a regenerative approach to the business of tourism aims higher than mere sustainability and helps ensure that the businesses, the environment, and the people who live here, work here, and visit here can thrive together.

In today’s episode, we’re joined by Jeremy Rand, the Manager of Planning for the Town of Parry Sound. He’s worked as an urban planner all over Muskoka, and is a proud Gravenhurst resident who lives just down the street from me with his young son Atlas.

We’re talking about homelessness…or, more precisely, about how we talk about homelessness, and how our understanding of both the problem and the solution come into focus when we keep the dignity of the people involved at the forefront of our minds.

Finding secure, affordable, and appropriate housing is hard enough. For those with developmental disabilities, plotting a course through the many, many barriers to housing and finding community on the other side is exponentially more difficult.

In today’s episode I’m joined by Brianna Goslin, who has been working with first time homebuyers in Muskoka since 2021 to navigate rapidly rising interest rates and find original ways to secure and afford housing. While the picture she paints may sound bleak, Brianna articulates a hopeful vision of community care that proves more than one thing can be true at any given moment.